Eeek!

This has definitely been the week that got away from me. I went to New York twice for apartment hunting (still working on finding a place to live), and work has been pretty busy. When I've come home each night, all I wanted to do was fall face-first into bed, but I managed to do some knitting anyways. I swatched for my Mystery Stole 3, and am pretty happy with it as far as appearance and needle size go. I am not very good at blocking, though, and mine doesn't look as pretty as it could. I think I need to put more pins in next time.

I also got to work on my socks. I had a late start to the Summer of Socks, since I didn't get to start my socks until Sunday, but I've gotten a good bit done on them. Back in May I started a pair of Baudelaire socks and only finished one. I cast on for the second one and am now about half-way up the foot. The figure-8 cast on went much more smoothly this time, and I've finally gotten to the point where I have the lace pattern pretty much memorized. Most of the time when I knit charted projects I have to have the instructions right there with me, but for this sock I seem to be doing okay without. That will change when I get to the heel section, but I'm good for now. I am still too grumpy to deal with the other pair of socks that needs completing. The more I think about it, the more I think I'll end up ripping out the whole thing and knitting it slightly larger and on bigger needles. I should have known it would be too small, but I just got in the zone and kept knitting. They were supposed to be birthday gifts for my mom, but they were too small, so I had to think of something else for her. Today's her birthday, by the way, so Happy Birthday Mom! (although she doesn't read this, but I'm putting it out there anyways.)

Only four more rows to go on Icarus until I change charts. The rows are getting so long right now that it's hard for me to get more than 4 in during one sitting. The purl rows seem especially monotonous. Still, being so close to a major transition point is making the knitting really exciting right now. I'll be glad to move on to the next row of the shawl. There are three charts left to go, but they shouldn't take nearly as much time as the first one did.

I'll take some photos soon to document the progress on my various projects. This will be a pretty busy weekend for me, so hopefully I can get it done tonight. Knowing that people might check my blog is a pretty good reason to be better at updating!

Howdy!

Hi! Welcome to my blog! Tonight I finally gave this blog address to the lovely ladies at my Stitch n' Bitch. I don't know why I waited so long to let people know about this thing. I guess I was nervous about what people will think about what I write. Also, I'm a little paranoid about web safety. Once it's out there, the whole world can see it, etc. But they asked, so I gave out the address. So hi!

Since I joined the Mystery Stole knit-a-long last week, I've been eagerly awaiting my needles and yarn. The needles came today. I've been wanting to try Knitpicks options for a while, since several people I know rave about them. And of course I had to add a few things to the order.
I got needles and cables, a skein of Alpaca Cloud to help me finish my Icarus (I don't think I have enough yarn), some Shadow in Grape Jelly (love that name), and a little sock yarn -- pretty colors, huh? I also got Knitting Vintage Socks, which I'm really looking forward to reading. And they threw in a color card! How nice is that?

I also took a picture of my marathon project, the Icarus shawl from Interweave Knits Summer 2006. I think I've been working on this, on and off, for about six months, and I'm just now approaching the point where I get to change to chart 2 of 4. It doesn't look like much now, but it's prettier in person. I'm using Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud in Moss.

Also, here's a picture of my awesome baby sweater, Trellis from Knitty. It was for a friend's baby, and I'm really proud of it. I hope the baby likes it! I called it my little old man sweater, since it reminds me of, well, a little old man's sweater. I'd like to do something similar in an adult size one day. It's in Patons Classic, but I don't remember the color name.

Finally, here is the lovely Minnie, cat extraordinaire. She's a camera hog.

I've been out all day, and Minnie needs a little affection, so that's it for today. I hope I didn't just bore all my new readers to pieces.

Still here!

I'm still around, just too lazy to post much. Since I last wrote I:

1. Went to the 2007 Tonner Doll Collectors Convention (so much fun) which was in Orlando, so I also
2. Went to Disney World, then I
3. Made a quick visit back home to Texas, while all the while I
4. Freaked out about my impending move to New York City.

(Number 4 is still in progress). Hopefully I'll have some news to report on the apartment front after this weekend. I'm hoping to get down there and see some places on Saturday. If anybody reads this, please keep your fingers crossed for me.

I'm also going to try and get some pictures up this weekend of the world's most awesome baby sweater (a.k.a. the only sweater I have ever made) and the world's most awesome cat, Minnie, who has been mostly forgiven for her truly heinous crimes of Tuesday night. I don't think my bathroom rugs will ever be the same. Luckily I was going to buy new ones once I move. In the meantime, let's just say I won't be winning any home decor awards with what is left of them.

I also joined another knit-a-long, the Mystery Stole 3. I don't know if I can do this one technically or practically (is it too hard for my skills, and considering that I am still on the body section of Icarus, is it insane to even be thinking about another lace project?), but I've ordered the yarn and I'm going to give it the old college try. I also ordered a bunch of stuff from knitpicks, and I can't wait for it to arrive. Once it all comes, though, I'm going to have to go on a yarn diet for a while. I've got plenty of sock yarn, plus some odds and ends for other projects (yay washcloths!), and the yarn for an entire granny square afghan, so that will hopefully get me through the fall, unless I decide to do some X-mas knitting, but that's for gifts, so it won't count. :)
On the needles right now, I've got two different socks, that darn shawl, a washcloth, and the enormous blue afghan of doom (on hold until fall, because it's too big and hot to work on now). I also have to finish two bags, which are all knit but need linings, handles, and buttons. Hmm, I'll have to get some of these up in a sidebar like I've seen in other blogs. That would look neat.